Ace the Cloud: Essential Interview Questions on Cloud Computing Explained

 

1. What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services (e.g., servers, storage, databases, networking, software) over the internet ("the cloud"). It allows businesses to access technology resources on-demand, with a pay-as-you-go model.

2. What are the main types of cloud deployment models?

• Public Cloud: Resources are provided over the internet by a third-party cloud provider (e.g., AWS, Azure).
• Private Cloud: Cloud infrastructure dedicated to a single organization, offering more control and security.
• Hybrid Cloud: Combines public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them.

3. What are the primary cloud service models?

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet (e.g., AWS EC2, Azure VM).
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications (e.g., AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Services).
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet (e.g., Google Workspace, Office 365).

4. What is AWS EC2?

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud, enabling users to launch virtual servers (instances) for various workloads.

5. What is Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?

Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) allow users to deploy and manage a set of identical, load-balanced VMs that automatically scale to handle changing workloads.

6. What is Google Compute Engine?

Google Compute Engine (GCE) is Google's IaaS service, providing virtual machines that run on Google’s infrastructure, supporting various machine types, configurations, and operating systems.

7. How does AWS Lambda work?

AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service that lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers. It automatically scales and executes your code in response to events, such as HTTP requests or file uploads.

8. What is Azure Functions?

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run event-driven code without managing infrastructure. Functions can scale based on demand and integrate with various Azure services.

9. What is Google Cloud Functions?

Google Cloud Functions is a serverless execution environment that runs code in response to events. You only pay for the time your code executes, making it a cost-effective solution for event-driven tasks.

10. What is Amazon S3?

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) is an object storage service that provides scalable storage for any data type. It is designed for durability, scalability, and security, supporting use cases like backup, big data analytics, and content distribution.

11. What is Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft's object storage solution optimized for storing large amounts of unstructured data such as text, images, or videos. Blobs can be accessed via HTTP/HTTPS from anywhere in the world.

12. What is Google Cloud Storage?

Google Cloud Storage is a unified object storage solution for developers and enterprises, offering near-infinite storage with strong data consistency. It can be used for data lakes, backups, and serving data directly to users.

13. What is AWS VPC?

Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) enables users to provision a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud, where they can launch AWS resources within a virtual network. It provides control over IP addressing, subnets, and routing.

14. What is Azure Virtual Network (VNet)?

Azure Virtual Network (VNet) is a fundamental building block for private network communication in Azure. It enables many types of Azure resources to communicate with each other securely.

15. What is Google VPC?

Google Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) allows you to define a logically isolated network for Google Cloud resources. It provides flexibility in scaling and managing network configurations and supports global communication between resources.

16. What is AWS IAM, and why is it important?

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) enables you to securely control access to AWS services and resources. It allows you to define permissions and manage users, roles, and policies to ensure secure and restricted access.

17. What is Azure Active Directory?

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management service. It provides single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and conditional access to protect cloud applications.

18. What is Google Cloud IAM?

Google Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) enables administrators to manage access to resources by granting granular permissions to users, groups, and services, ensuring fine-grained control over access.

19. What is AWS CloudFormation?

AWS CloudFormation is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) service that allows you to define and provision AWS infrastructure using templates written in JSON or YAML. It automates the setup and management of AWS resources.

20. What is Terraform, and how does it compare to CloudFormation?

Terraform is an open-source IaC tool that works across multiple cloud providers (including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud) using a declarative language. Unlike AWS CloudFormation, which is specific to AWS, Terraform offers a cloud-agnostic solution for managing infrastructure.